The 18th Camel or the 3rd Alternative?

It’s the first Friday of the month and you know what that means… another great post from Senior Consultant, Mark Murphy!  We hope you enjoy it and are able to look at problems as challenges.  Try looking at things from another perspective.  You'll be surprised at the solutions that you will discover!

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William Ury in his book, Getting to Yes, he tells the story of a man in the Middle East who, upon his death, left to his 3 sons 17 camels.  To the first son he left half the camels, to the second son he left a third of the camels, and to the youngest son he left a ninth of the camels.  The three sons immediately got into a lengthy and animated discussion because 17 does not easily divide by 2.  It also doesn’t divide by 3, nor does it divide by 9.  The discussion began to get somewhat heated.  So finally in desperation, the brothers consulted with a wise old woman. 

The wise old woman thought about their problem for a long time and finally came back and said to the brothers,  “Well, I don’t know if I can help you.  But at least, if you want, you can have one of my camels.”  So they had 18 camels. 

The first son took his half; half of 18 is 9.  The second son took his third; a third of 18 is 6.  And the youngest son took his ninth; a ninth of 18 is 2.  They had divided amongst themselves 17 camels.  They ended up with one camel left over.  So they gave it back to the wise old woman. 

It’s interesting how much this story resembles many of the difficult negotiations we get involved in.  They start off like the seemingly unsolvable problem of dividing 17 camels.  Somehow what we need to do is step back from the situation like the wise old woman.  Look at the situation through fresh eyes and come up with an 18^th camel. 

In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven R. Covey refers to the “18^th camel” as The 3^rd Alternative.  The 3^rd Alternative is a solution that is not your way or my way, but a higher way; a better way that we come to together.  It’s a truly synergistic solution that requires stepping back and seeing things through a fresh set of eyes like those of the wise old woman. 

One of the clients that I’ve worked with, and learned from, for many years is a large health care organization that has a unique organizational perspective - which is that any project of a certain scope or larger is required to have an employee with less than six months as a project team member.   In other words, the really big important projects require the fresh eyes of a new hire (much like the fresh eyes of the wise old woman).   In my experience the opposite is usually the norm in organizations.  The most  important projects require the most senior and “experienced” people.  This client, on the other hand,  has embraced the unique, and I think more accurate, perspective that really important issues require people that can think “outside the box”, which often comes with not knowing how things are “supposed” to be done.  It takes a diverse group of people who feel free to express their opinions to arrive at a truly synergistic solution. 

Dave Kelly, the CEO of the innovative Silicon Valley product development company IDEO, even goes so far as to say that “in a very innovative culture you can’t have the kind of hierarchy that says here’s the boss and the next person down, and the next person down, and the next person down, and so on.  Because it’s impossible that the boss is always the one that’s had the insightful experience….!  You have to hire people that don’t listen to you.” 

Or, I would say, if that’s not possible,  to at least be willing to listen to people with a fresh set of ears and attempt to view problems with a fresh set of eyes.

Mark Murphy, FranklinCovey Consultant

Copyright © 2012 - Mark Murphy

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Click on the ABC Nightline video below about IDEO.  They take innovation and The 3^rd Alternative to a whole new level! 

If you want learn more about 3^rd Alternative thinking, pick up Dr. Covey’s book! 

Check back with us next week for another leadership-related post!

Enhancing innovation one organization at a time,

John Vakidis

Can we get along too well?

Today is the first Friday in May.  You know what that means, right?  Another great blog from my friend and colleague, Mark Murphy.  Mark is a senior consultant with FranklinCovey and has worked with organizations across the globe to help them with everything productivity, leadership and team performance.  If you have ever worked in an organization where teams were “stuck” from achieving their potential, then this month’s post might bring back a few memories. 

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Within the last month I’ve had the opportunity of working with two very different organizations struggling with one very similar issue.  One organization was a small privately held resort company in Colorado and the other was the UK office of an Italian-based multinational organization.  The issue was trust…or more specifically…the lack of trust. 

I was fascinated by how different and yet how similar the teams in both organizations were.  Even though one team was struggling to grow beyond the vision of a single entrepreneur and the other was working to integrate new team members from various cultural backgrounds; they were both essentially stuck in what Bruce Tuckman calls the “storming” stage of team development.

 According to Tuckman, all teams go through a natural process of development that consists of 4 phases:  1) Forming 2) Storming 3) Norming and 4) Performing.  (Bruce Tuckman reference).  Looking at the behavior of small groups in a variety of environments, he recognized the distinct phases teams go through and suggested they need to experience all four stages before they achieve maximum effectiveness.  This process can be subconscious, although an understanding of the stages can help a group reach effectiveness more quickly and less painfully. 

The “Storming” stage is when, as the name suggests, members can become hostile and combative.  As goals and objectives are clarified, team members become aware of any gaps between reality and their initial expectations. They may experience dissatisfaction with the team’s objectives and may begin to question the ability of their leadership.  If these issues are not addressed quickly and openly with what Steven R. Covey in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,  calls a “combination of courage and consideration”, the team may never get to the next stage which is Norming.  Norming is where members begin to resolve conflicts through increased cooperation and trust.  They settle in to norms on how to work together.  They rally around each other with common spirit and goals and get down to work. 

Norming is an essential step to the final goal of an effective team, which is Performing.  Performing is when team members work together productively and produce high-quality results. They prevent problems or work through them constructively.  They provide their own direction and encouragement and feel satisfaction in working with the team.  These high-performing teams are able to function as a unit as they find ways to get the job done smoothly and effectively without inappropriate conflict or the need for external supervision.

I think the key work here is inappropriate conflict.  Not all conflict is bad.   In seeking the balance of courage and consideration required to get beyond the storming stage teams must be able to, not only experience conflict, but actually embrace it.  I’ve worked with teams and organizations that are overly courageous and frank in their opinions without consideration for the feelings of others. These highly courageous yet inconsiderate teams rarely get beyond the storming stage.   I’ve also worked with teams that are overly considerate and afraid to confront issues with any degree of honesty or courage.  I’ve found that these teams are just as likely to get stuck in the storming stage.   As Steven Covey states, maturity in an individual as well as a team requires balancing both courage and consideration.

 In his book “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team”, Patrick Lencioni states that ultimately teams fail to get results or Perform because of an Absence of Trust which leads to a Fear of Conflict. 

Notice (below) that the solution to a lack of trust lies, not in removing all conflict, but rather through embracing appropriate conflict with open, honest, thoughtful dialogue.  Steven Covey says the ultimate form of a Win-Win is to find agreement where both parties mutually benefit or to have both parties agree to disagree agreeably. 

So…back to the original question.  Can we all get along too well?  I believe we can.  If we want to create a high performing team that gets consistently superb results we have to create a high trust environment where people feel they can openly disagree.  An environment where differing views are not just tolerated, but actually celebrated.  An environment that understands how Storming can ultimately lead to Performing.  This is as true in the mountains of Colorado as it is in the UK.



- Mark Murphy, FranklinCovey Consultant             

Copyright © 2012 - Mark Murphy

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So it’s time for a little assessment.  Where is your team on the scale below?

1) Forming     2) Storming     3) Norming     4) Performing

If your answer was not 4, then we should chat.  Even if your team is Norming, what would it be worth to your organization if we could help you get to Performing?  For most organizations we visit with the financial ROI is huge.  If you are just Forming or Storming, them the ROI is even greater.

Be courageous enough to admit where you are at and contact me to set up a call with Mark and your FranklinCovey Client Partner.  I am confident to say that the time you give us will be well spent  to learn how we can help.

Helping increase performance one team at a time,

John Vakidis